Archer's Adventure Manual

In the town of Falling Rock, in front of a blacksmith's shop marked with a hammer.

Loran looked at the muscular man forging iron and the dwarf helping him. This seemed to be the blacksmith shop he had seen when he first arrived.

I never expected Thompson would bring him here.

"Hey, my dear old buddy, strong old Smith! Long time no see, how are you doing today?" Thompson greeted him warmly as soon as he arrived at the blacksmith's shop.

Old Smith the blacksmith merely glanced at the little old man Thompson and said with an annoyed look, "Thompman, don't act like we're old friends. You still haven't paid back the money you owed me last time."

Thompson ignored Old Smith's words and walked forward on his own.

"My old friend, why are you so concerned about money? Talking about money hurts feelings. I came here today specifically to check on you, not to return the money," Thompson said with a grin.

Old Smith's face darkened. He wasn't here to return the money, yet he was acting so self-righteous? Then what did he call me here for?

He no longer knew how to describe this half-dwarf old man; he was simply too shameless.

Seeing that old Smith remained silent, Thompson did not give up, but instead kept talking incessantly beside him.

"Hey, old buddy, you're forging a greatsword, aren't you? Oh my god, look at these exquisite patterns and this amazing texture. You really are the best craftsman I've ever seen in town, bar none, truly."

"And we do have a connection, you see, your assistant is a dwarf, and I happen to be a half-dwarf."

"So we're pretty close. Just look around town, who's closer than us, right?"

Listening to Thompson's incessant rambling beside him, old Smith couldn't hold back any longer and said with a sullen laugh, "Thompman, what do you want to do? Just say it! You're the most shameless person I've ever met, bar none!"

Thompson rubbed his hands together and chuckled, "It's really nothing, I just want to borrow a few arrows from you. They're the kind with fletchings made of ground bird feathers and arrowheads made of black iron."

"Oh? You old fogey, you still have the leisure to shoot arrows? Don't fly yourself off the spot, or you'll come looking for money to pay for it, and I can't afford that," Old Smith sneered.

Thompson pushed Lorraine forward and solemnly introduced him, "This is my godson. Isn't he a young man with ideals and aspirations? You wouldn't want to disappoint such a vibrant young man, would you?"

Old Smith tilted his head slightly and looked at young Loran.

"Hello, Mr. Smith," Lorraine greeted him very politely.

Old Smith smiled slightly, turned to Thompson and said, "Thompman, I really want to help young people, but you have to pay me back the money you owe me first, otherwise it will put me in a difficult position."

Then, Thompson started arguing with old Smith again.

Finally, the dwarf tricked Old Smith into taking out an arrow, then grabbed the arrow and dragged Loran away!

Loran was dumbfounded. Would it really kill Thompson to pay a single penny?

"Mr. Thompson, um, I suddenly remembered, could you give me the complete set of equipment? Look at my current clothes, if a wild animal were to attack me even slightly..."

Lorraine suddenly said to Thompson on the way.

Thompson glared at Loran. "Why didn't you say so sooner? If you had, I would have taken some more of that old man's equipment! But... it's not too late now, wait for me."

Loran watched as Thompson ran back to Old Smith's blacksmith shop, and no one knew what had happened, but he actually came out wearing a leather jacket and a leather hat.

"A simple leather jacket and hat, is that alright? Most adventurers don't wear those. Yours is considered high-class." Thompson patted the leather jacket and hat.

"Thank you, Mr. Thompson," Lorraine said gratefully.

"The only remaining requirement is lethality. We already have the arrows—black iron arrowheads with low-flying bird feather fletchings. Their power is already taking shape. If you want to defend against a bronze-level adventurer, the lethal method still has to start with the arrowhead!" Thompson analyzed as he walked.

Listening to Thompson's description, Lorraine asked curiously, "You want to poison the arrows?"

"Hey, you're smart. That's right. I happen to know an old friend who would be happy to help us," Thompson said confidently.

Loran wiped the sweat from his brow. "Let's hope so..."

Soon, Thompson arrived in front of a general store, where various furs, animal teeth strung together, and ornaments woven from feathers hung at the entrance.

It appears to primarily sell by-products of wild animals.

"Mrs. Juno, it's been a long time!" Thompson greeted her with enthusiasm, opening her arms as she walked into the shop, as if to give a long-lost friend a big hug.

next second.

"Bang!"

Thompson, the little old man, was kicked away and fell to the ground in a sorry state, with a shoe print on his face.

"Oh, that's the strength, Mrs. Juno. You haven't changed at all over the years, neither your strength nor your appearance," Thompson said with a grin.

A well-dressed woman emerged from the grocery store, glaring angrily at the man before her. "Thompman, how dare you come to me, you old geezer! You've broken my heart!"

"Oh, don't say that. What happened back then is in the past." Thompson slowly stood up, brushing the dust off his clothes. "We're still good friends, aren't we?"

"Get out of here! I don't want to see you, you old geezer!" Mrs. Juno said, slamming the door shut.

Loran stared blankly at the scene, then tentatively asked, "What happened between you and her? Why does she look so angry?"

He could tell at a glance the relationship between Old Smith and Thompson at the blacksmith shop, but once women were involved, things became complicated and not so simple.

"Well, it's a long story. I met Mrs. Juno when I was young. She was very young then, and we liked each other very much."

Thompson chuckled self-deprecatingly, "You might wonder why someone likes a short, ugly old man like me. Actually, I wasn't this ugly decades ago, just a little short. Then I did an experiment with runes... and an accident happened... which made my appearance ugly too."

"After that, I rarely contacted her again. I was definitely not good enough for the beautiful Juno. Even though she said she didn't mind, that was just her being polite. I'm not that naive. She should find her own happiness."

Loran was slightly moved as he listened to Thompson's story. He hadn't expected the old man to have such a story. Well, who doesn't have regrets when they're young?

"Does Mrs. Juno have someone she loves now?" Lorraine asked curiously.

"Ha, the knight she found later was a short-lived man. He died not long after, without even leaving a child. Mrs. Juno was quite a pitiful person," Thompson sighed.

Lorraine stroked his chin and suggested, "Then why don't you try to continue your relationship with Mrs. Juno?"

"Hey kid, this doesn't fit societal expectations... Besides, with my appearance and age, I'm practically an old hag. Mrs. Juno must be very disappointed in me."

Thompson shook his head. "It's okay, kid. I'll get you what you want."

Having said that, Thompson's small figure swayed to Mrs. Juno's door and knocked.

"Juno, open the door! I want to help a young man. He needs your help, really!"

Loran stared at the figure and fell silent. Perhaps, someone else also needed some help?

"Brian, what do you think?" Loran said to himself, trying to pat Brian's head.

"Hey, where's Brian?!"